China Books Review
@chinabooksreview.com
A digital magazine on all things China and bookish, publishing reviews, essays, excerpts, lists and more. Organizer of the Baifang Schell China Books Prize
https://chinabooksreview.com/
https://chinabooksreview.com/
The best books of 2025, as chosen by experts and the editors.
See the full list: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b...
See the full list: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b...
December 29, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The best books of 2025, as chosen by experts and the editors.
See the full list: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b...
See the full list: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b...
The best China books of 2025, across nonfiction and literature, as selected by experts and the editors.
Read the full list: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b...
Read the full list: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b...
December 19, 2025 at 1:00 PM
The best China books of 2025, across nonfiction and literature, as selected by experts and the editors.
Read the full list: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b...
Read the full list: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b...
Join us at Asia Society tomorrow, Dec. 16, at 6:30pm for a special event: Shakespeare, Tyranny and China
Stephen Greenblatt joins Nan Z. Da to discuss her book "The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear" in a conversation moderated by Orville Schell.
Ticket available now: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...
Stephen Greenblatt joins Nan Z. Da to discuss her book "The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear" in a conversation moderated by Orville Schell.
Ticket available now: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...
December 15, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Join us at Asia Society tomorrow, Dec. 16, at 6:30pm for a special event: Shakespeare, Tyranny and China
Stephen Greenblatt joins Nan Z. Da to discuss her book "The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear" in a conversation moderated by Orville Schell.
Ticket available now: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...
Stephen Greenblatt joins Nan Z. Da to discuss her book "The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear" in a conversation moderated by Orville Schell.
Ticket available now: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...
Read Zheng Churan's review of "From Forest Farm to Sawmill: Stories of Labor, Gender and the Chinese State" by Shuxuan Zhou: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/11/s...
December 12, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Read Zheng Churan's review of "From Forest Farm to Sawmill: Stories of Labor, Gender and the Chinese State" by Shuxuan Zhou: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/11/s...
2025 has seen a bumper crop for Chinese literature in translation. We recommend five recent titles, from gritty tales of the northeast to conjoined fiction from Hong Kong.
Read Jack Hargreaves' latest Translated Chinese Literature column: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/09/t...
Read Jack Hargreaves' latest Translated Chinese Literature column: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/09/t...
December 10, 2025 at 1:02 PM
2025 has seen a bumper crop for Chinese literature in translation. We recommend five recent titles, from gritty tales of the northeast to conjoined fiction from Hong Kong.
Read Jack Hargreaves' latest Translated Chinese Literature column: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/09/t...
Read Jack Hargreaves' latest Translated Chinese Literature column: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/09/t...
Our best-seller list for November has dropped! "Breakneck" leads the pack for the fourth month running, with "Apple in China" still going strong, a revival for "Strangers in the Land" and a new entry in the top five for Michael McFaul's "Autocrats vs. Democrats."
chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...
chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...
December 8, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Our best-seller list for November has dropped! "Breakneck" leads the pack for the fourth month running, with "Apple in China" still going strong, a revival for "Strangers in the Land" and a new entry in the top five for Michael McFaul's "Autocrats vs. Democrats."
chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...
chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...
Read Lijia Zhang's profile of Jung Chang, author of "Wild Swans," only at China Books Review: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/04/j...
December 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Read Lijia Zhang's profile of Jung Chang, author of "Wild Swans," only at China Books Review: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/04/j...
Listen to Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea talk about their new translation, "More Swindles from the Late Ming," on Episode 27 of the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/02/e...
December 3, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Listen to Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea talk about their new translation, "More Swindles from the Late Ming," on Episode 27 of the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/02/e...
Five times a year, we hold a free book club in both NYC (Asia Society) and DC (JF Books), discussing the latest Chinese fiction in translation. On Jan 21/26, we're branching into nonfiction to discuss Hu Anyan. Email info@chinabooksreview.com to save your seat! More info: chinabooksreview.com/club
December 1, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Five times a year, we hold a free book club in both NYC (Asia Society) and DC (JF Books), discussing the latest Chinese fiction in translation. On Jan 21/26, we're branching into nonfiction to discuss Hu Anyan. Email info@chinabooksreview.com to save your seat! More info: chinabooksreview.com/club
We're off for Thanksgiving this week, but regular posting will resume next week. In the meantime, why not save your spot for our next book talk at Asia Society NYC on December 16, with Nan Z. Da and Stephen Greenblatt talking about Shakespeare, China and tyranny? asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...
November 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
We're off for Thanksgiving this week, but regular posting will resume next week. In the meantime, why not save your spot for our next book talk at Asia Society NYC on December 16, with Nan Z. Da and Stephen Greenblatt talking about Shakespeare, China and tyranny? asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...
Read our excerpt from "You Must Take Part in Revolution" by Melissa Chan and Badiucao: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/20/r...
November 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Read our excerpt from "You Must Take Part in Revolution" by Melissa Chan and Badiucao: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/20/r...
Read Na Zhong's latest "What China's Reading" column:
chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/18/w...
chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/18/w...
November 19, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Read Na Zhong's latest "What China's Reading" column:
chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/18/w...
chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/18/w...
Check out NüVoices' virtual writing workshop with essayist and academic Yangyang Cheng on December 6! You may have seen her work in China Books Review, The New York Times or WIRED — and now you can learn directly from her writing process, too.
Reserve your spot: nuvoices.com/2025/10/27/v...
Reserve your spot: nuvoices.com/2025/10/27/v...
November 14, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Check out NüVoices' virtual writing workshop with essayist and academic Yangyang Cheng on December 6! You may have seen her work in China Books Review, The New York Times or WIRED — and now you can learn directly from her writing process, too.
Reserve your spot: nuvoices.com/2025/10/27/v...
Reserve your spot: nuvoices.com/2025/10/27/v...
Read Rana Mitter's review essay on The Party's Interests Come First by Joseph Torigian: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/13/x...
November 14, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Read Rana Mitter's review essay on The Party's Interests Come First by Joseph Torigian: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/13/x...
Read @jeremiahjenne.com latest Archive Pick, "From Heaven Lake," a travelogue by the acclaimed Indian novelist Vikram Seth's recounting his overland journey from Nanjing to New Delhi via Tibet in 1982: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/11/h...
November 12, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Read @jeremiahjenne.com latest Archive Pick, "From Heaven Lake," a travelogue by the acclaimed Indian novelist Vikram Seth's recounting his overland journey from Nanjing to New Delhi via Tibet in 1982: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/11/h...
We've updated our monthly list of bestselling China books with the October 2025 bestsellers! BREAKNECK tops the list for the third month in a row, with APPLE IN CHINA hot on its heels. Tech in China books overtaking the Red-Scare books.
Explore the full list: chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...
Explore the full list: chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...
November 10, 2025 at 1:01 PM
We've updated our monthly list of bestselling China books with the October 2025 bestsellers! BREAKNECK tops the list for the third month in a row, with APPLE IN CHINA hot on its heels. Tech in China books overtaking the Red-Scare books.
Explore the full list: chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...
Explore the full list: chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...
Nominate up to three titles for the 2025 Baifang Schell Book Prize: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/06/p...
Last year the jury selected at the "Edge of Empire" by Edward Wong as the winner in Nonfiction and "Taiwan Travelogue" by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ (author) and Lin King (translator) in Literature.
Last year the jury selected at the "Edge of Empire" by Edward Wong as the winner in Nonfiction and "Taiwan Travelogue" by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ (author) and Lin King (translator) in Literature.
November 7, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Nominate up to three titles for the 2025 Baifang Schell Book Prize: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/06/p...
Last year the jury selected at the "Edge of Empire" by Edward Wong as the winner in Nonfiction and "Taiwan Travelogue" by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ (author) and Lin King (translator) in Literature.
Last year the jury selected at the "Edge of Empire" by Edward Wong as the winner in Nonfiction and "Taiwan Travelogue" by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ (author) and Lin King (translator) in Literature.
Listen to Chris Horton talk about his new primer on Taiwan, "Ghost Nation," on Episode 26 of the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/04/e...
November 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Listen to Chris Horton talk about his new primer on Taiwan, "Ghost Nation," on Episode 26 of the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/04/e...
Read Sabina Knight's review of "City of Fiction" by Yu Hua: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/30/f...
October 31, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Read Sabina Knight's review of "City of Fiction" by Yu Hua: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/30/f...
The bestselling Chinese novelist Yu Hua foregrounds individual suffering in the chaos of modern Chinese history. In his latest novel in translation, gratuitous violence shows the limits of fiction.
Read Sabina Knight's review of "City of Fiction": chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/30/f...
Read Sabina Knight's review of "City of Fiction": chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/30/f...
October 30, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The bestselling Chinese novelist Yu Hua foregrounds individual suffering in the chaos of modern Chinese history. In his latest novel in translation, gratuitous violence shows the limits of fiction.
Read Sabina Knight's review of "City of Fiction": chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/30/f...
Read Sabina Knight's review of "City of Fiction": chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/30/f...
Watch the video of our book talk at Asia Society about "Apple in China" by Patrick McGee, with Zeyi Yang: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/28/p...
October 29, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Watch the video of our book talk at Asia Society about "Apple in China" by Patrick McGee, with Zeyi Yang: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/28/p...
The author and journalist Patrick McGee explains how China captured Apple's business and learnt from its technology, in a China Books Review event at Asia Society, moderated by Zeyi Yang.
Watch the video: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/28/p...
Watch the video: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/28/p...
October 28, 2025 at 12:03 PM
The author and journalist Patrick McGee explains how China captured Apple's business and learnt from its technology, in a China Books Review event at Asia Society, moderated by Zeyi Yang.
Watch the video: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/28/p...
Watch the video: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/28/p...
Book club is back! Join us on November 5 at Asia Society NYC (or November 10 at JF Books in DC) to discuss Yu Hua's latest novel, "City of Fiction," translated by Todd Foley. Email info[at]chinabooksreview.com now to nab your spot, with your city and a brief bio.
chinabooksreview.com/book-club/
chinabooksreview.com/book-club/
October 27, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Book club is back! Join us on November 5 at Asia Society NYC (or November 10 at JF Books in DC) to discuss Yu Hua's latest novel, "City of Fiction," translated by Todd Foley. Email info[at]chinabooksreview.com now to nab your spot, with your city and a brief bio.
chinabooksreview.com/book-club/
chinabooksreview.com/book-club/
Read the Q&A with Hongbin Li on "The Highest Exam," ungated here from our sibling site The Wire China: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/23/h...
October 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Read the Q&A with Hongbin Li on "The Highest Exam," ungated here from our sibling site The Wire China: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/23/h...
The U.S.-based academic discusses why China’s college entrance exam system retains popular support despite its hardships, and how the gaokao’s influence can spread overseas.
Read the Q&A with Hongbin Li on "The Highest Exam," ungated here from The Wire China: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/23/h...
Read the Q&A with Hongbin Li on "The Highest Exam," ungated here from The Wire China: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/23/h...
October 23, 2025 at 12:03 PM
The U.S.-based academic discusses why China’s college entrance exam system retains popular support despite its hardships, and how the gaokao’s influence can spread overseas.
Read the Q&A with Hongbin Li on "The Highest Exam," ungated here from The Wire China: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/23/h...
Read the Q&A with Hongbin Li on "The Highest Exam," ungated here from The Wire China: chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/23/h...